The Lotus Emira 420 Sport Pumps Up the Power, Drops Some Weight

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caterham09@reddit

An Emira without a manual may as well not exist tbh.

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pinezatos@reddit

I disagree, I like the automatic, more easy to drive for daily use.

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imped4now@reddit

I've been dailying manuals since 2008. I don't know how but I'm still alive, folks!

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MentalMiilk@reddit

But how can you possibly deal with traffic!?! I've been told it's literally impossible with a manual!!!

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Nero_Wolff@reddit

Why should manufacturers be catering mid engine 2 seater sports cars for daily usage?

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pinezatos@reddit

Why not? It even has an option to choose a sport/road suspension and a more firm/track suspension

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In my limited experience, I'm not sure that most of those modes actually do anything. I'd accept that some do, but the ones I've tried seem to just change the dashboard lights and that's about it. Really felt like the carmaker was poking fun at drivers who have no idea about driving but "putting it in sport mode" sounds cool so they give them a button for it like they're appeasing a toddler.

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Eggith@reddit

It wouldn't be their first car like that. Remember the Evora? There's also the C8 Corvette, and the McLaren GT. As puzzling as it is there are some people that want to be able to use their mid engined sports car as a daily driver.

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boomerbill69@reddit

It’s crazy that in 2026 on a car enthusiast subreddit that there is the implication that a manual vehicle cannot be daily driven.

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peaked-at-7@reddit

Very few people are buying Emiras for daily use.

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VGS911@reddit

Fair enough, but 88% of Lotus purchased were sold with a stick.

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pinezatos@reddit

Oh I don't disagree with the manual, but it's nice to have more options

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RobsyGt@reddit

Yea but the dude told you, you aren't getting the "real" driving experience. You have to like what he likes, he'll be talking nonsense about a cars soul soon.

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UmaThurmish@reddit

euro 7 killed manuals.

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Sinakers@reddit

I've been hearing this a lot recently. How would an automatic transmission pollute more than a manual? Wouldn't that depend on the engine and weight, more than anything else?

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MentalMiilk@reddit

I think it's more that automatics (aka modern 8+ speeds) are better at keeping engines at optimal rev ranges due to the closer gearing, though it's entirely possible that the tests themselves are flawed. I know that both the long gearing in manual Caymans and the quieter exhaust of manual Nissan Zs are resultant of a flawed test rather than any actual differences between the two transmissions.

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caterham09@reddit

Not saying it is, just stating the facts. Without the full driving experience, what would realistically possess someone to buy one of these cars

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terroristteddy@reddit

Absolutely. If you're not getting the stick then Boxster/Cayman is the clear choice

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MentalMiilk@reddit

That or a C8 Z06. I don't even like the C8, but I can't see why you'd buy an automatic Emira over one.

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UmaThurmish@reddit

I will say. it would be cool if sports cars had auto with manual mode. I know some brands do this sort of thing, Mazda does, where you can put an auto in manual mode and up and down shift

it would be even better if they actually put in a manual shifter in an automatic transmission that lets you actually shift by wire.

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imped4now@reddit

it would be cool if sports cars had auto with manual mode.

Are you implying that the auto Emira/Cayman/etc. don't allow "manual" shifting via paddles?

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UmaThurmish@reddit

the car will still upshift and downshift on its own anyway. it would be nice if again, it came with a manual shifter that was a shift by wire set up and let you disable the auto shifting

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NetworkStatic@reddit

Plenty of cars do not have that. My dual clutch 911 will bounce off the rev limiter until I shift it. My Cayman was the same way.

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UmaThurmish@reddit

thats a dct, am talking about an actual auto transmission with manual mode

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Elvis1404@reddit

Stellantis just made the Lancia Y and Fiat Panda available with a manual...

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TheDragonaut@reddit

Lotus could've easily made manual cars using Euro 7's low-volume exemption as long as they produced less than 10,000 units a year, they (or more accurately Geely) just decided to waste an unfathomable amount of money trying to become a volume manufacturer of EV's instead and left the Emira as an afterthought when it could've been a genuinely great car with proper development.

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UmaThurmish@reddit

i believe 10000 units is only allowed until 2030, after that it has to be under 1k

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TheDragonaut@reddit

Per the EU themselves manufacturers can apply for exemptions to the 1,000 unit limit beyond 2030, and given how much backtracking they've agreed to once the manufacturers pushed back on Euro 7's more stringent regs I'd imagine Lotus would have little issue getting the exemption. Even if they didn't, an 8-year lifecycle for the Emira would've made it the third-longest production run of any Lotus built after the Elan and Seven which (baseless speculation aside) should have been plenty of time to see what the regs end up being and formulate a new corporate strategy. Just sad to see what Lotus is versus what it could've been with decent management and a clear vision for the brand.

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UmaThurmish@reddit

emira didnt really come out until 2024 tbf.

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TheDragonaut@reddit

True, but that's because Lotus made an absolute shambles of the launch for a wide variety of reasons that were almost entirely their fault. Even so, six years of production is nearly industry standard for a model of car, not that anything Lotus does is standard.

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Turbo 4 Auto Alpine - Yep

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razzhasse@reddit

Still twice the weight of an Elise S1